


The Making Of A Demon

by deanandsam



Series: Stories which include John Winchester [20]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Gen, John Winchester Remains in Hell, Some Cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:15:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27489460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deanandsam/pseuds/deanandsam
Summary: John doesn’t get out of hell at the end of season two and that changes everything.
Series: Stories which include John Winchester [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2041017
Comments: 8
Kudos: 13





	The Making Of A Demon

“John…” Azazel came to stand in front of John Winchester, a phony smile on his face as he contemplated the shacked, bleeding human soul.

“I hope you’re enjoying the full range of our hospitality. Only the best for our honored guests. Move over,” he said to the demon who’d been torturing Winchester. “I want to take a moment to enjoy John’s company, though I suppose guest probably isn’t the best word; permanent inhabitant is probably more appropriate. You know John," he added almost amicably, "there are some parts of the body which can cause much agony, that are ignored, like the sternum.”

Lifting a hammer from the nearby table set out with all the necessary instruments for Hell’s day-to-day labor, Azazel chose a heavy mallet and drawing his arm back he brought it down against John’s chest, shattering the bone.

John couldn’t hold back the scream of agony that issued from his mouth.  
With a leer, Azazel nodded satisfied. “See, “ he said to the nearby demon, “you still have a lot to learn about the science of pain.”

Just as he was turning to go, Azazel hesitated. “By the way John, thanks for keeping Sam and Dean safe all these years. There’s something very special in store for them!”  
Delivered his enigmatic info, he sauntered off, his laugh ringing in John’s ears. 

“Wait, “ the tortured man called throatily, his voice husky from the pain. “What are you talking about?”  
But Azazel merely gave another chuckle and kept on walking.

John didn’t get a chance to ponder the demon’s words until Hell’s ‘night’ when the souls on the rack received a short period of respite from the tortures; all the better to terrorize them even more when it started up again.

During the moments when he wasn’t yelling in agony and even at times while he was, John paid attention to every word that was spoken around him. At times he’d pretend to have passed out from the pain, and that was when the torturing demons would gossip about the goings-on of hell.  
:::::::::::::::::::  
Usually, the conversation between them was all about how their torture techniques had been judged favorably or not by the higher-ups, but occasionally a snippet of useful information would slip out about Hell, its rules, extension, how it was run, etc, and John would store every bit in the back of his mind.

“You heard?” the first demon asked. “it’s gonna happen. The angels are at the gates. It’s time for it to begin.”  
“Yeah,” the other demon leered, nodding towards a seemingly unconscious John. “I wonder what he’d say if he knew what was gonna happen to his darling sons? This fool sold his soul for nothing.”

“Is Alastair gonna tell him?” the first demon asked.  
“You bet. There’s nothing would torture Winchester more than to know what’s coming for them.” 

The second demon gave a cackle before slicing at John’s groin and getting back to work.  
John gave an inhuman howl at the pain as if it had provoked a return to consciousness.  
“I hope you enjoyed your little rest, Winchester, cos it’s back to work for us busy demons!”

When he was finally left alone, John pondered the conversation between the demons earlier, trying to make sense of it.  
What did they mean when they implied he’d died for nothing?  
He’d sold his soul to save Dean and even in the shitty halls of Hell, it seemed that deals were respected.  
Had Dean been killed on a hunt? 

As for the angels at the gate, John hadn’t believed angels existed, and even if they did, why would they be at the gates of Hell?  
For a moment, a feeling of optimism overtook him. Maybe they’d come to help the tortured souls. A free pass out of Hell, a blanket pardon for everyone.  
With a sigh, he shelved the thought. If angels existed, then probably Heaven did too and angels surely wouldn’t be looking for pedophiles, murderers, and sadists to elevate to celestial status. No, there had to be some other reason.

He‘d kept the most important piece of information for last. The demons had laughed at the idea that something was coming for his boys. A pain as shrill as that of the torture transfixed him.  
His sons were in danger and he could do nothing to help them. He was just a shredded soul at the mercy of demons.

Was there a way of getting out of Hell? Clearly, demons did go back to Earth. Meg, Azazel, Alastair, crossroad demons, and many others did, so it was clearly possible but how did it happen? What was the mechanism?

Moreover, John had no idea how much time had passed since he’d been sent here, days, months, or years. Fuck it could be centuries for all he knew, but the fact that his sons had been referred to as being in danger had to mean that it wasn’t all that long.

John couldn’t have known that two earth years had passed since he’d died nor that the passing of time in hell was different from that on Earth. One month on Earth was equivalent to ten in Hell, so John had been suffering for two hundred and forty years. 

Another fact which was unknown to him was that he was on the road to becoming a demon himself. Contrary to what one might think, it was the strong human souls who attained demon-hood first, not the weaker sniffling ones.  
Strong resistant humans made equally strong resistant demons like Alastair and Azazel.

Hanging his head in despair, John felt tears burning his eyes. What failure of a father had he been to his sons? Here he was strung up on a rack unable to look out for them. Sure, he’d given up his life happily for Dean but now it seemed that sacrifice had been in vain if the snippets of gossip were true. 

His sons were still in danger and he was powerless to help.  
Maybe it was that very thought which accelerated John’s path to becoming a demon, the idea that there was nothing more he could do for his boys.  
When Alastair came along to taunt him with the latest news, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

“John, I’m told you’re making remarkable progress. That soul of yours is getting blacker by the day. And just to reward you, I’m going to tell you a little story.”  
“Fuck off,” John snarled, a wave of anger rising in him unlike he’d ever experienced.

Alastair regarded him almost fondly. “You will make an excellent demon, Winchester. I’m sure I’ll be proud to name you among my best results. Of course, it’s nice to keep it all in the family. Dean was an excellent pupil too.”

“What the fuck are you talking about. Dean’s alive. I made a deal for him.”  
“Oh, John, I’m sorry you haven’t been kept up to date. That has been so amiss of me! I should’ve mentioned Dean was in hell too. That might have consoled you. Knowing he was nearby.”

John launched into a series of obscenities at Alastair’s words, the anger in his soul reaching levels of high.

Alastair chuckled. “I just knew this would perk you up, John. By the way, the boy didn’t take to torture as well as you. He eventually got off the rack and I took him under my wing. He had a great affinity for the work. If there hadn’t been a schedule mapped out for him, he’d have risen high in our ranks, just like you will.  
However back to my little story. I suppose you’ve heard about the apocalypse. The bible makes a big thing of it. Well, your two sweet sons are right in the middle of it. And just like Cain and Abel, one brother needs to kill the other for it to happen. Of course, I’m just giving you the bare bones, John. There’s a lot more padding to the story, not that it will affect you much.  
Very soon your transformation will be complete and you’ll no longer spare a thought for Sam and Dean.”

John stared at him as he walked off, horrified by Alastair’s words.  
What did he mean that soon he wouldn’t give a fuck about his sons? That was never going to happen, not ever! His boys were seared into his heart.  
And so it came to pass that one earth year, and another one hundred and twenty hell years later, John Winchester was cut from the rack, his soul now a black gaseous cloud. 

The cloud soon reformed itself into the simulacrum of his body, but even in the spires of that cloud, John’s thoughts were still for his sons.  
Now a fully-fledged, if a newly-minted demon, the workings of hell were explained in full as he and other demons were initiated into the fold.

The demons were under the orders of their superiors who would give them their duties as they saw fit.

“Winchester! Alastair wants you to apprentice on the racks. For some reason, he sees talent in you, must be because your son turned out to have a real gift for slicing and dicing.”  
The other demon all let our hoots of laughter with the instructor joining in.  
The part of John that was still Sam and Dean‘s dad itched to take all the fuckers out, but the part that was demon pulled him in the opposite direction.  
Why the fuck should he care about two weak humans? John Winchester was going to become someone in Hell and he eagerly made his way to the torture chambers, ready to start work.

As on Earth, his sons struggled with their destiny, John struggled with the demonic part of his soul, dominating it bit by bit with iron tenacity until the love for his boys got the upper hand.  
The role of torturer was now just a way of passing the days until he got to where he wanted to be, back on Earth. Whatever his sons were going through, he was going to be there to help them.

By Hell’s codex, the ablest of torturers got rewarded for their efforts and John knew what he’d ask for; a period of time on Earth. He wanted to see his sons and what John Winchester wanted he got.

When the day finally arrived, John was more than ready. 

“Now Winchester, as this is your first time back above ground, you do what Gopher here tells you to. And when it’s time to come back down, you obey. If not, we send out a team to bring you back by force and it’ll be centuries if ever, before you’re allowed back up.

Now, we’ve all gone through it, the first time back can be overwhelming and you’ll want to stay topside, but remember what I said. If you really want to spend more time on Earth then it’s better to follow the rules. You got that Winchester?”

John nodded. Now wasn’t the time to fight back. He needed to get to Earth, then he’d consider his options.

“You’ve been told how to possess a human, not that you didn’t know beforehand but actually doing it for the first time is harder than it seems. Just hang around your victim until they part their lips then force your soul between them and take the body over.  
Understand?”

John nodded, filled with anticipation at seeing his sons again.  
He hadn’t been able to protect them as a human, ironically maybe as a demon he’d be more successful.

And so it was after three earth years and three hundred and sixty hell ones, John Winchester returned.

Could he change his sons’ fate, could he watch over them again? John didn’t have an answer but he’d try his fucking best!

The end


End file.
